【Travel Blog 】Bus ride from Singapore to Cameron Highlands, Malaysia

Weekend getaway in Singapore is always good for whatever reasons. We planned a 3 night-trip to Cameron Highlands Malaysia last July. Accommodations is easy to book, but the transport was a nightmare. Lack of information online, and it’s not exactly an easy place to travel to without car. Hence I hope it will be useful to write this blog for readers who are planning a trip to Cameron Highlands from Singapore.

Cameron Highlands is a beautiful highlands in Malaysia that is popular for its cooler weather, tea plantations, golf course, fruits and vegetable farms. A good place to chill, have afternoon tea, hiking and relax.

How to travel to Cameron Highlands from Singapore?

Our travel options from Singapore to Cameron Highlands were:

By car(Self-drive): Approximately 600 km, can take up to 8 hours drive

Direct bus: taking a bus from Golden Mile Complex to one of the resort in Cameron Highlands (about 9 hours ++ depending on the traffic)

By car

It takes approximately 8 hours drive from Singapore to Cameron Highlands. For a weekend short trip we rather not to spend a whole day driving to tire ourselves out. So, no car!

By Bus

Bus from Singapore to Cameron Highlands is good value. S$56.50 one way bus ticket. Approximately 9 hours (for our case, our bus took a long 12 hours ride including 1-hour traffic jam to clear Singapore Custom Immigration, and some traffic jam on the road and a couple of food and toilet stops)!

Apart from being budget-friendly, it is also an easy option to travel. If you can sleep on the bus, bus departs from Singapore at 10.30pm and you’ll reach Cameron Highlands in the morning. Bus on the way back departs at 10 am. So be prepared to spend at least a day on the journey.

By Flights then Taxi

The nearest airport to Cameron Highlands would be Ipoh International Airport (Sultan Azlan Shah Airport). Currently,TigerAir fly from SIN-IPOH (1 hr 15 min) with approximately fare S$190, 2 ways. Upon arriving at Ipoh Airport we still need to arrangetaxitransport to hotels in Cameron Highlands. That could cost up to anotherS$136 (RM210) one way. Taking a taxi from the airport is a little bit risky as I’m not familiar with Ipoh and I don’t want to risk being conned by the local taxi drivers. Although flight seems like an easier option, it is certainly much pricier compared to the bus.

Taking a bus from Singapore to Cameron Highlands…

1. Online Booking

Apparently, there are only 2 bus companies in Singapore that operate the direct bus to Cameron Highlands. We booked our bus tickets for Easy Book.com. We took Konsortium Express because they allowed us to choose seats while we can’t do the same at another company. Paid S$96 per person, 2 ways. Sweet deal!

2. Bus Check-In

Upon booking the tickets online, we were told to be there 30 minutes before departure to check in. On the day itself, we were there early but can’t seem to find Konsortium counter. Then I received a call from Konsortium staffs 20 min before departure time, apparently, we were at the wrong GOLDEN MILE. The bus departs from Golden Mile TOWER, not Golden Mile COMPLEX!

So we finally dragged our luggage to Golden Mile Tower, Konsortium office, which is just another block away. The staff gave us a quick briefing like where to board the bus etc and gave us 2 bottles of mineral water. We then boarded our bus which was just parked outside the building.

That was our bus to Cameron Highlands, parked outside Golden Mile

3. Konsortium Bus

The bus has 31 seats with 2:1 seats in a row. Bus interior looked quite old and worn out.

Quite spacious. But the interior was old and dated.Bus on the way back, same layout but slightly newer seats

Update!!! Konsortium Bus Company Shut Down as of 22 Feb 2018

Alternative for other bus companies that travel from Singapore to Cameron Highlands can be found here.

4. Clearing Singapore/JB Immigration Checkpoint

The bus dropped us off outside Singapore immigration checkpoint. All passengers were to bring their passports and valuables to clear the Customs, without the luggage. There’s a waiting area after the passport scan and we were to board the same bus. Make sure you take a photo of your bus just in case you can’t remember the number plate.

Tuas Immigration Checkpoint – Bus waiting bay

Going into Malaysia Customs, all bags have to be cleared from the bus and bring it with us.

We need to get the passport stamped and bag scanned. The immigration hall was hot with no air-con, and the queue was messy and long. Such a big difference comparing to Singapore Customs.

Afterthoughts…

Pros of taking a bus to Cameron Highlands

Cheap ticket and hassle-free.

Direct transportation to Cameron Highlands

Cons of taking a bus to Cameron Highlands

took a long time (9-12 hours depending on traffic)

great if you can sleep on the bus, if you can’t… then would be a super long journey